Love For God And Love For One Another
by Reverend Presbyter Demetrios Serfes
Boise, Idaho
September 1 2001

Christ Our Lord (From Hagia Sophia)

Our love for Our Lord God and for one another is a spiritual essential for all Christians. The humble and diligent practice of that love is an vital step on our journey to become true and pious Christians. On that journey we discover the deep joys of prayer, of fasting, of keeping vigils in our Churches and in our homes.

We discover, too, the wisdom to be found in picking up the Holy Scriptures and studying them with fervor, in reading about the saints and martyrs of the Church, and being spiritually nourished by the Holy Fathers of the Church. All these essentials uplift us, leading us to always think well of every person, and be humbly concerned for their spiritual welfare and salvation.

All of us should spiritually desire that the peace of God will descend upon us, and bring us His love - and He does when we live up to our Christian duties while we are on this earth. What we must refrain from is thinking ill of one another: we must think of, and treat one another as the precious creation of Our God! We, as loving Christians, should not judge anyone, not even the person who might of had been unkind to us. We must, as Christians allow our Lord God to be the judge! What we can do instead is very simple - humbly pray for those who have in any way "hurt" us, by word or deed, for we can and should act both in forbearance and patience towards one another, only seeking the good that truly lives in us all!

On a constant daily basis we should spiritually struggle to keep the love of Our God alive in our hearts. The one way to keep this great love of Our Lord God is to never allow our brother or sister to feel irritation from us. At such times, we should humbly seek a reconciliation, forgiving and in turn being forgiven. Then we will truly be able to go to Christ Our Lord with a clear and pure conscience, offering Him our gift of love in prayer that is now true, earnest and cleansed. Please read from the Holy Gospel: St. Matthew 5:24.

How many times in our lives have we found people who have fallen into the temptation of gossip, and that gossip has truly wounded us? Our Christian duty is neither to gossip about anyone nor to list to such gossip. If we do, we start to fall away from the Divine Grace which has been given to us, and our lives will no longer be holy and clean in the presence of Our Lord God. Let us learn today never to abuse our neighbor in gossip, for we certainly do not want to find ourselves cut off from eternal life.

Love of God and love for another truly can be fulfilling for us all as Christians, so let us then be always concerned as to how we can spiritually accomplish this great virtue, and avoid any temptation that might only bring us to the face of despair. All of us must seek to be free from any hatred, irritation, and anger, fully understanding why Our Savior Jesus Christ indicated in His teachings: "But I say to you, love your enemies…do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you". Read this beautiful Holy Gospel passage from St. Matthew: 5:44.

Let us love Our Lord God, who is love, and let us love one another, as we then truly spiritually confess: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one essence, and undivided!

May the love and the peace of Our Lord God be with us all!

Peace to your soul!

Humbly In The Love Of Christ Our Lord,
+Reverend Presbyter Demetrios Serfes
Who prays for you and with you!
September 2001